This article was originally published on beingtheremag.com, an independent music and film magazine that ran from 2004 to 2007. It is presented here as part of the Being There Magazine archive.
By Adam Anklewicz | Being There Magazine, July/August 2006
Night One
Act: The Ride Theory
Venue: The Silver Dollar & The Supermarket
Date & Time: Thursday, June 8, 2006 @ 9pm; Friday, June 9, 2006 @ 5pm
*Ankle’s Best of Thursday Pick*
*Ankle’s Best of Festival Pick*
Though not planning to see The Ride Theory until Friday afternoon, on Thursday I found myself at The Silver Dollar, late, expecting to see Matt Murphy’s new wave band City Field. Instead, I was faced with a mod band with too much charisma for people of their age and too much talent. Their musicianship is impeccable and has a good supply of solid songs that would make any fan of 60s rock happy. This throwback to The Who and The Yardbirds leaves the audience wanting more, and they helped with that. Their performance on the following day was during Aporia and Sunny Lane Records’ joint BBQ at The Supermarket in Kensington. With better sound, and a better crowd, their performance only got better that second day.
http://www.theridetheory.com/
Act: Code Pie
Venue: Holy Joe’s
Date & Time: Thursday, June 8, 2006 @ 10pm
My ears were hurting as I walked into the forty-person venue. The assault of sound coming from the stage was enormous. The venue was almost full for the six-piece that were using any and all space they could get. Their pop-rock songs were solid and the addition of cello and trumpet to the standard four-piece created something rather memorable. A few minor mistakes were easily made up for with their fun pop songs. The band seemed more interested in entertaining themselves rather than the audience and that transferred to the crowd.
http://codepie.com/
Act: Adam Puddington & The Proof
Venue: Healey’s
Date & Time: Thursday, June 8, 2006 @ 11pm
Adam Puddington’s country songs bleed maple syrup and capture the feeling of Canadiana as if Puddington is fulfilling the life journey of Gordon Lightfoot. His country tales are full of energy and with the beautiful harmonies of Kelly Sloan, Adam was also joined by former Guthrie Dale Murray on pedal steel and Serge Samson on bass. Puddington was able to create a fantastic blend of country and rock and roll with a bit of fragile folk rock that would make Nick Drake happy. The listener is instantly trapped in Puddington’s melodies and they stick with you.
http://www.adampuddington.com/
Act: Payola Reserve
Venue: Cadillac Lounge
Date & Time: Thursday, June 8, 2006 @ 12am
Imagine Grapes of Wrath. Now imagine early 54-40. Take away anything that truly resonates with these artists and you have Payola Reserve. These imports from Baltimore were unable to inspire a busy bar filled with music lovers. Their songs weren’t terrible, but they did nothing to keep anyone’s interest.
http://www.thepayolareserve.com/
Act: James McKenty & The Spades
Venue: Healey’s
Date & Time: Thursday, June 8, 2006 @ 1am
*Most likely to have panties thrown on stage award*
The Kawartha Lakes’ answer to The Sadies is James McKenty & The Spades. Their tales of booze and drugs are the perfect fit for a 1 A.M. timeslot as they bring a seemingly endless supply of energy that has girls in the audience screaming their names. Their live show puts spectacle before music and doesn’t do justice to the songwriting evident on their two records.
http://www.thespades.ca/
Night Two
Act: Superjuice Inc.
Venue: Hooch
Date & Time: Friday, June 9, 2006 @ 9pm
Never have there been whiter rappers.
http://www.superjuiceinc.com/
Act: Novillero
Venue: El Mocambo
Date & Time: Friday, June 9, 2006 @ 12am
*Mark Volman Honorary Award for Accomplishments on Tambourine*
Being annoyed by those handing out free chips and caffeine-spewing drinks nearly drove me to want to turn around as soon as I arrived, but the fun pop-rock of Novillero seemed to be something I should finally see. They were able to keep me entertained even while fighting the urge to fall asleep. Their tambourinist couldn’t stand still and helped make up for the lack of energy provided by their frontman, Rod Slaughter, as this quintet from Winnipeg filled the corporate sponsored event at the El Mocambo.
http://www.novillero.net/
Act: King Khan and The Shrines
Venue: The Comfort Zone
Date & Time: Friday, June 9, 2006 @ 1am; Saturday, June 10, 2006 @ 1am
*Miller’s Best of Friday Pick*
*Ankle’s Best of Friday Pick*
*Miller’s Best of Festival Pick*
Germany’s King Khan knows how to have a good time; all you need is some sweet soul and maybe a horn section. Khan’s soul revival is all about the energy of the here and now and a stage presence that would be hard to rival. Playing all three nights of the festival, Being There was out in full-force to see them the second night, but after that performance, I had to see the band close the festival. Always filling one of Toronto’s crappiest venues, The Shrines were fabulous musicians who set the stage for a great frontman to do his stuff.
http://www.king-khan.com/
Night Three
Act: Valery Gore & Blood
Venue: Cameron House
Date & Time: Saturday, June 10, 2006 @ 11pm
*Ankle’s Best of Saturday Pick*
After performing a lackluster solo-performance at Six Shooter’s BBQ-extravaganza, Gore pulled out all the stops with her backing band, the aptly named “Blood.” Though with a name like that one might expect a rock-spectacle of violence and debauchery, instead the pianist performed her soulful, jazz-pop songs with a lot of flair and more talent than one could usually find at a new music festival. Performing a good serving of new material, Gore was able to entertain the packed crowd, familiar or not, and those in the line-up outside the doorway.
http://www.valerygore.com/
Act: Beekeepers Society
Venue: Savannah
Date & Time: Saturday, June 10, 2006 @ 11pm
Brampton, Ontario’s Beekeepers Society offered up a set of Smiths-influenced rock. The lead singer reminded me of a very thin and muted Jack Black, which is kind of ironic because the band’s music could easily be described as “sad bastard music.” Still, although a drummer was sorely lacking from the group, they were pretty good.
www.myspace.com/beekeeperssociety
Act: The Brown Hornets
Venue: Comfort Zone
Date & Time: Saturday, June 10, 2006 @ 12am
*Most likely to be featured in Being There’s next festival feature award*
Taking a break from recording, The Brown Hornets journeyed to Toronto for another music festival. The first time we saw them it was CMW 2005 and I was among three other people in the venue. Performing just before the festival headliners, King Khan & The Shrine, The Brown Hornets faced a crowd packed like sardines, but less salty. Their humor and good old-fashioned rock and roll with a touch of punk can always get a crowd going, and what’s a music festival in Toronto without The Brown Hornets?
http://www.thebrownhornets.com/
BBBQ! The Extra B is for BYOBB
Taking a hint from sister festival, South by Southwest, a few record labels realized that there is nothing to do during the days. Aporia Records and Sunny Lane Records started things off on Friday with a bash at The Supermarket featuring Paper Moon, Junetile, Stirling, Face on Film and The Ride Theory. While the first and last of the day were my favorites, all five bands were very good showcased some strong Canadian talent from some local record labels.
The following day Six Shooter Records launched their music store and gallery on Queen Street with backyard performances by Luke Doucet, Valery Gore, Ford Pier and NQ Arbuckle. Also joining those Six Shooter label-mates were some outside friends, such as Melissa McClelland, Oh Susanna and many, many more. The day also saw Danny Walters of The Brown Hornets leg-wrestling to win a satellite radio!
Dead animals were consumed, drunkenness ensued, music was played and North by Northeast just keeps on getting bigger and bigger.